Insect-Pest of Common Medicinal and Aromatic Plants and Their Sustainable Management

Renewed interest in medicinal and aromatic plants during the past 20 years has brought surging markets and production opportunities for these plant species. To enhance and maintain market growth, however, MAP production systems, whether cultivated or collected, will need to ensure sustainable production of quality plant materials that have been wholesomely grown and processed. The growing familiarity of western consumers with medicinal and aromatic plants places a premium on standardized plant materials that are organically produced and meet expectations for efficacy. Currently, market demand for MAP is nurtured by consumer demographics and by favorable impressions of bioactivity, but this demand remains susceptible to myths, traditions, and science reports associated with the plant materials. By addressing the problems of standardization and verifiable marker compounds along with issues such as plant domestication, conservation, biotechnology, and others that affect plant cultivation, producers and processors can assure acceptable products reach the marketplace and crop production opportunities will continue to grow. Introduction A recent resurgence of interest in medicinal plants in many Western nations, the continued dependence of people in much of the world on these species, and the advent of a globalized economy has brought sustainability challenges to the medicinal plant trade. The modern market for medicinal plants has, in general, grown over the past 15 years (Fig. 1), but remains fragile, subject to governmental regulations, research findings, and media publicity along with the usual factors associated with supply and demand. Indeed, many challenges to the continued growth of the market exist, including appropriate education of consumers, assurances of high quality products, and availability of a sustainable supply of plant material. The development of patentable, synthetic pharmaceuticals in the 1930s and 1940s in America and other Western countries (Table 1) resulted in the active abandonment of medicinal plants in health care, leaving new generations of both health care practitioners and the general populace with only a limited history, culture, and understanding about the appropriate use of medicinal species for preventing and treating human ailments (Craker and Gardner, 2003). Consumer confidence in pharmaceutical drug development, enhanced by the discovery of antibiotics and vaccinations that prevent or treat many diseases has lately decreased as drug costs escalate and major health problems, such as cancer, AIDS, cardiovascular disease, and numerous other problems continue to exist. An array of interests from medical professionals essentially committed to “modern” pharmaceuticals, consumers seeking alternative health care options, and herbalists promoting the use of medicinal and aromatic plants can convert challenges to market opportunities if growers and processors provide safe, useful plant products and educate consumers and health care professionals on benefits of medicinal plant products. Education of consumers and healthcare practitioners about the correct use of medicinal and aromatic plants and plant extracts will help ensure the continued recognition of the value of these products. For example, Western consumers accustomed Proc. WOCMAP III, Vol 2: Conservation Cultivation & Sustainable Use of MAPs Eds.: A. Jatisatienr, T. Paratasilpin, S. Elliott, V. Anusarnsunthorn, D. Wedge, L.E. Craker and Z.E. Gardner Acta Hort. 676, ISHS 2005 26 to taking a pharmaceutical drug and experiencing the effect of the drug within minutes to hours must learn that an herbal product that may take much longer to exhibit noticeable activity. Similarly, consumers and producers must replace the concept of taking drugs to treat pre-existing conditions with the concept of taking medicinal plants to improve general health and to treat both clinical and sub-clinical conditions. If consumers and health care providers are unfamiliar with the concepts of medicinal herb use, they cannot be expected to seek, recommend, or use these plants as medicine. Consumer Demographics As with any commodity, sales and use of medicinal plant products are influenced by the type of people that use these products. Indeed, a good share of the growth in sales of medicinal and aromatic plants and other natural products over the past 15 years can be attributed to the growth of certain demographic groups. Immigrants from Asia and Latin America have popularized a new palette of herbs and spices in restaurants and homes in the United States. This popularization has been such that U.S. spice consumption grew from 2 pounds per capita in 1976 to 3.2 pounds per capita in 1995 (Anonymous, 1998) (Fig. 2). Contributing to the increase in spice consumption is a change in lifestyle in many industrialized nations. The movement of women, historically the people responsible for meal preparation, from the home to workplace has altered traditional roles, requiring easier food preparation within the limited time available after work. In these instances, spices are frequently used to enhance the flavor of homemade and prepared meals. A highly significant trend among consumers is the increase in consumers interested in environmental issues, the so-called “green” consumers (Roper, 2002). Such consumers are willing to pay a premium for eco-friendly products, including organic foods, recycled products, and herbal remedies. These consumers value natural alternatives to conventional products including foods and medicines, thus medicinal plant products and natural food flavorings are favored by these consumers. Media Influences Media stories featuring medicinal plants appear highly influential in consumer demand and acceptance of medicinal plants. While medicinal plants were featured positively in several highly publicized stories in the late 1990s (Greenwald, 1998; Johnson et al., 1997), many of the more recent stories have been negative with concerns focused on several plant species (such as kava and ephedra) (Burros, 2002; Strugatch, 2002), with few headlines highlighting the benefits or proper use of medicinal plants. Most of the negative stories are concerned with the lack of standardization of dose or with reports of results from poorly designed research studies (Brody, 1999). Product Quality The popularization of medicinal plants in Western nations during the 1990s encouraged the formation of numerous new companies producing herbal medicines. Unfortunately, the quality of the plant materials (including differences due to natural variation, cultivation practices, and post harvest handling) and processing vary among companies, and thus the quality of oils and other extracts is highly variable. Surveys by independent laboratories have demonstrated significant variation in the quality and reported content of packaged herbal remedies (Anonymous, 2001; ConsumerLab, 2002). News reporting of such variation undoubtedly lowers consumer and health care provider confidence in medicinal plant products. Standardization of herbal products is the most commonly suggested solution for overcoming the natural variation of constituents in plant material. While standardization can help ensure product quality, recognized drawbacks to standardization exist. For example, in many plant species the active constituents of the species are not fully known. Secondly, a combination of plant constituents may be responsible for biological action of the plant or plant extract. Yet, if standard guidelines for marker compounds can be recognized and if plant selection, cultivation methodology, and processing can be

Since thousands years back approximately around 900 BC, medicinal plants are considered as a source of many biomolecules with therapeutic potential. Herbal medicines are considered as safer, better, physiologically compatible and costeffective. The oldest evidence of medicinal and aromatic plants depicts that with the emergence of human civilization, plants have been considered as the main source to heal and cure various serious ailments. It has been proven that the secondary metabolites e.g. alkaloid, glycosides, flavonoides, steroids etc present in the medicinal plants possesses ability to prevent occurrence of some of the diseases, means medicinal plants acts as a “preventive medicine”. Medicinal plants have a paramount importance and a great interest due to its pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutritional values. Some plants are also considered as an important source of nutrition and are known to have a variety of compounds with potential therapeutic properties. India is the principal repository of large number of medicinal and aromatic plants or we can say India is one of the rich mega-biodiversity countries of the world. Medicinal plants are “backbone” of traditional medicinal system (TMS). Crude drugs are usually dried parts of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) such as roots, stems, wood, bark, seeds, fruits, flowers, leaves, rhizomes, whole plant etc. that form the essential raw material for the production of medicines in various systems of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Tibatian, Tribal and Homeopathy. According to the survey of the World Health Organization (WHO), about 80% of the world population are using herbs and other traditional medicines for their primary healthcare and have established three kinds of herbal medicines: raw plant material, processed plant material, and herbal products. Now days, variety of available herbs are used throughout the world and they continue to promote good health. As the benefits from medicinal and aromatic plants are recognized, these plants will have a special role for humans in the future. The present review on medicinal and aromatic plants revealed similar combination of studies.

The concept of rural development, it stems from many factors and variables circumstantial of area as rural tourism, agritourism, products of territory, in our case the medicinal and aromatic plants. In this paper we estimate the land fund by purpose and destination of use is grouped into three categories, where the third, with about 53 thousand hectares, is less fertile, affected by erosion, and should be used with priority. Their expansion results to be 67% in mountain areas, 31% in hilly areas and only 2% in lowland areas. The more effective alternative according to our agriculture theory and practice is that of the aromatic and medicinal plants (medicinal and aromatic plants) that have multi-dimensional cultivating interests for our country, conditioned by the climatic and soil conditions as well as the economic and organizational conditions of a range of stakeholders related to the aromatic and medicinal plants, such as their growers, collectors, aggregators, processors and traders (exporters). In terms of our country the aromatic and medicinal plants have two main situations: From the wild, outdoor and, b) Cultivated, in increasingly growing areas, in different areas and with differentiated practices. Among the the aromatic and medicinal plants in complexity, sage, thyme and oregano have obvious superiority in area planted and the production realized out of their total. The advantage of the aromatic and medicinal plants results in full use of agricultural land, in a broader employment of free labor force (mainly women), increase of income, increase of their exports, which currently account for about 52-54 % of the total that agriculture as a whole realizes in the last years, etc.

At the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Cluj-Napoca there is an old and valuable tradition regarding the knowledge and valorification of medicinal and aromatic plants. In this institution, a Medicinal Plant Resort was established (in 1904), with activity until between the two world war period, being known and appreciated in the country and abroad. Starting with 1970 (50 years ago), the scientific researches in the field of medicinal plants were resumed at USAMV Cluj-Napoca, within the Phytotechnics department of this institution. The Cluj Department of Phytotechnics has carried out multi-annual research contracts with the Fundulea Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Department, since its establishment (in 1975) and has maintained scientific collaborations with the Faculty of Pharmacy from Cluj-Napoca, with Plafar Cluj etc. Since 1993, when The Hop and Medicinal Plants Culture Research Center was established at the Cluj Phytotechnics Department, the investigations in the field of medicinal and aromatic plants have diversified. Under the shield of this research center, since its establishment (in 1993), the journal "Hop and Medicinal Plants" is published, which publishes scientific papers on medicinal and aromatic plants, made at USAMV Cluj-Napoca and other institutions of research in the country and abroad. This paper presents the evolution of investigations in the field of medicinal and aromatic plants within USAMV Cluj-Napoca, highlighting the studies conducted from 1970 to the present. During this period (for five decades)8are presented the doctoral theses referring to medicinal and aromatic plants defended in USAMV Cluj-Napoca. Finally, the paper includes books of medicinal and aromatic plants developed and published by teachers from Phytotechnics in Cluj.

Medicinal and aromatic plants are offered in a wide variety of products on the market. At least every fourth flowering plant is used. The enormous demand in botanicals results in a huge trade from local to international level. In the 1990s, the reported annual world-wide importation of pharmaceutical plants amounted on average to 400,000 t valued at USD 1,224 million. The international trade is dominated by only few countries. About 80 % of the world-wide imports and exports are allotted to only 12 countries with the dominance of temperate Asian and European countries. Whereas Japan and the Republic of Korea are the main consumers of pharmaceutical plants, and China and India are the world’s leading producing nations, Hong Kong, the USA and Germany stand out as important trade centres. Until now, the production of botanicals relies to a large degree on wildcollection. However, utilization and commerce of wild plant resources are not detrimental in themselves, but, for example, the increasing commercial collection, largely unmonitored trade, and habitat loss lead to an incomparably growing pressure on plant populations in the wild. World-wide an estimated 9,000 medicinal plant species are threatened. Conservation concepts and measures which have to meet future supply and the provisions of species conservation range from resource management, cultivation, shifting processing from consumer to source countries, species conservation to trade restrictions or even trade bans. Medicinal and aromatic plants are of high priority for conservation action, as wild-crafting will certainly continue to play a significant role in their future trade: the sustainable commercial use of their biological resources may provide a financial instrument for nature conservation. INTRODUCTION Phytopharmaceuticals, also some pharmaceuticals, herbal remedies, dietary supplements, homeopathics, medicinal and herbal teas, liqueurs, spirits, sweets, aromas and essences, perfumes, cosmetics, colouring agents, varnishes, fireworks, and detergents – plant-based products offered in a wide variety on the market. Whereas in some goods the herbal ingredients are evident, e.g. in teas or in herbal remedies where they are declared on the packaging, in other products the botanically source is more secret: the bitter taste of Campari is based on the Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea), and the fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) contains steroid-saponins which are extracted for use in oral contraceptives. The use of botanical raw material is in many cases much cheaper than to use chemical alternative substances. As a consequence, there is an enormous demand in botanicals resulting in a huge trade, on local, regional, national and international level for domestic use and for commercial trade. Different aspects are associated with the trade in medicinal and aromatic plant material, the trade structure, trade volumes and values, the herbs used and their production, the ecological and socio-economic impacts of the trade, and the management of the botanical resources. Proc. XXVI IHC – Future for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Eds. L.E. Craker et al. Acta Hort. 629, ISHS 2004 Publication supported by Can. Int. Dev. Agency (CIDA) 178 MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS IN USE Species in Use World-wide, it is estimated that up to 70,000 species are used in folk medicine (Farnsworth and Soejarto, 1991). The WHO reports over 21,000 plant taxa used for medicinal purposes (Groombridge, 1992). Unfortunately, there is no idea how many species are used in the other areas of use, like cosmetics, spirits or aromas which makes determining exactly the number of all medicinal and aromatic plant species used worldwide impossible. However, it can be stated, that at least every fourth plant is in use, a calculation based upon the estimated total number of 300-350,000 flowering plants. The number of medicinal and aromatic plant species used in some regions are impressive: In India, which is said to have probably the oldest, richest and most diverse cultural traditions in the use of medicinal plants, about 7,500 species are used in ethnomedicines (Shankar and Majumdar, 1997) which is half of the country’s 17,000 Indian native plant species. In China, the total number of medicinal plants used in different parts of the country add up to some 6,000 species according to Xiao (1991) and to over ten thousand according to He and Sheng (1997). Of these, approximately 1,000 plant species are commonly used in Chinese medicine, and about half of these are considered as the main medicinal plants (He and Sheng, 1997). In Africa, over 5,000 plant species are known to be used for medicinal purposes (Iwu, 1993). In Europe with its long tradition in the use of botanicals, about 2,000 medicinal and aromatic plant species are used on a commercial basis (Lange, 1998). In Germany, Lange (1996) identified not less than 1,500 taxa as sources of medicinal and aromatic plant material. In Spain, it is estimated that 800 medicinal and aromatic plant species are used of which 450 species are associated with commercial use (Blanco and Breaux, 1997; Lange, 1998). Geographical Origin of the Species in Use Herbs used in a country can be either indigenous or native to other regions or even continents. The share of both plant groups depends on the country’s cultural preferences, importance of traditional medicines, history, trade relations, and of course of the wealth or poverty of a country. Traditional medicines are playing an important role in many parts of the world. In south and southeast Asia, the Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha medicines are widely distributed and based on not less than 400, 500 respective 1,800 native Indian plant species (Shankar and Majumdar, 1997). The TCM, the traditional medicine of eastern Asia, relies in most cases on indigenous plant species. Traditional healers in many African countries rely on local or at most regional plant material (Marshall, 1998). In Bulgaria, about 750 native plant species, or 20 % of the total flora, are used in folk medicine. Of these, 200300 species are most commonly used (Hardalova, 1997). Further, in Albania, 205 native plant species are used as sources of botanicals (Vaso, 1997; Lange, 1998). In Hungary, some 270 native medicinal and aromatic plant taxa are used, 180-200 of which are officially recognised by the Hungarian Pharmacopoeia (Bernath, 1996). Ozhatay et al. (1997) list a total of 337 native taxa that have been commercially traded in Turkey since at least 1990 (Lange, 2001). From the French pharmacopoeia and lists of medicines Goi et al. (1997; Lange, 1998) noted some 900 taxa, of which almost half are native to Europe. This means, that many countries rely on a major part on their own plant diversity. Many of them cannot afford to import foreign botanicals, finished herbal products or even phytopharmaceuticals and the country’s own “biodiversity” is mainly offered in a crude form or at most as little processed products on the market. On the other side, there are the developed countries which use besides indigenous plant species a lot of non-native species and process them in their well developed pharmaceutical, cosmetic and extract-producing industry. Accordingly, the plant material is offered to the consumers as mainly packed and finished products, and the crude material plays a minor role in the retail trade. This features apply above all to the highly

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPS) represent a consistent part of the natural biodiversity endowment of many countries in Africa. The role and contributions of medicinal plants to healthcare, local economies, cultural integrity and ultimately the well-being of people, particularly the rural poor, have been increasingly acknowledged over the last decade. The demands of the majority of the populace for medicinal plants have been met by indiscriminate harvesting of spontaneous flora, including those in forests. This has resulted in severe loss of habitat and genetic diversity. The utilization of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) as a source of fuel, building material, food, fodder, and fibre, in African countries has, however, led to a resurgence of natural product- based industries and pharmaceutical products. This had been spurred by the interests of the developed countries for traditional medicine and natural products. Furthermore, many African medicinal plants are well-known in the international markets, e.g. Ancistrocladus abbreivatus, a Cameroun plant with anti-HIV potential. Therefore, sustainable management and conservation of these endangered medicinal plant species are important not only because of their value as potential therapeutics, but also due to worldwide reliance on traditional medicinal plants for health. Effective conservation strategies for medicinal plant should take place within four main areas: in-situ andex-situ conservation, education and research. Saving Africa’s medicinal plant resources from extinction calls for intensive management and conservation, more research and increased level of public awareness about our vanishing heritage. Key words: African, health care delivery, medicine, harvesting.

The effects of nutrients on the growth and quality of medicinal and aromatic plants, affecting athletic abilities

The western Himalayas are famous for its rich medicinal and aromatic plant biodiversity and also known as treasure of medicinal and aromatic plants. Nowadays, due to increasing awareness towards herbal products there is tremendous pressure on Himalayan medicinal plants. the natural environment of this region has been affected to a great extent due to overgrazing, cultivation in slopes, sub marginal lands, ruination of forest, change in weather pattern and unplanned developmental activities. the indiscriminate and over-exploitation have severely disturbed the ecological balance. Survey on the medicinal and aromatic plants has been undertaken in different adjacent villages of Soar valley Pithoragarh and other nearby areas. The Medicinal Plants were collected on the basis of literature and folklore information, there proper herbarium of collected plants was prepared and identification was undertaken from authentic sources. The unscientific, over and irregular exploitation of medicinal plants of Soar valley has resulted in very fast depletion as well as extinction of some important medicinal plant species. The threat of extinction can be reduced by developing their agro-technology, adopting scientific methods of collection, in-situ and ex-situ conservation. the aim of this survey is to create awareness among local people about this depleting valuable herbal heritage and to motivate them for its conservation.

Insect pests constitute a considerable risk to global crop production. Although Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins produced in transgenic plants are effective against chewing insect pests, they do not protect plants against sucking insect pests, and continued use of Bt crops in the field can lead to the evolution of resistant pest species. However, several plant-derived mannose binding lectins are effective against sucking insect pests. To provide broad-spectrum and durable resistance against multiple insect pests, we produced a double gene construct harboring Cry2Ab (encoding a B. thuringiensis toxin) and PTA (Pinellia ternata leaf agglutinin, encoding a plant lectin). Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis thaliana were used as model plant systems for characterizing the double gene construct (Cry2Ab + PTA). Transgenic plants were made and evaluated to measure the efficacy of Cry2Ab + PTA against chewing and sucking insect pests. Molecular investigation of transgenic A. thaliana plants showed stable integration and expression of the Cry2Ab and PTA genes. On N. benthamiana expressing Cry2Ab + PTA, Myzus persicae (green peach aphid) mortality was 74%, compared to 25% on non-transgenic controls. Bemisia tabaci (whitefly) mortality was 78%, compared to 22% on non-transgenic controls. Spodoptera frugiperda (fall armyworm) showed 83% mortality when fed on transgenic A. thaliana plants expressing Cry2Ab + PTA, whereas 17% mortality was observed on non-transgenic control plants. The Cry2Ab + PTA construct protects plants against both sucking and chewing insects, suggesting that this construct can be introduced into cotton and other crops to control multiple insect pests.

The use of aromatic and medicinal plants in developing countries has been widely observed. The increasing human population and demands in the late decades has led to over exploitation of land in many areas thus reducing the biodiversity of medicinal plants. Aromatic and medicinal plants possess odorous volatile substances and the characteristic aroma is due to a variety of complex chemical compounds. This study was carried out in order to contribute aromatic and medicinal plants knowledge of Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. This investigation included twenty medicinal or aromatic plant specimens collected and photographed from Bingol provinces during the vegetation seasons 2016. With this study some medicinal and aromatic plants recorded and photographed; that might be useful for health-care programme, aromatic and medicinal plants knowledge, aromateraphy, phytoteraphy, economic agricultural policy development, alternative food programme, ethnobotany and development of drug sector.

The Medicinal & Aromatic Plants aims to broadcast the latest findings from systematic explorations in the areas of Medicinal Plants, Medicinal Herbs, Plant Medicine, Aromatic Plants, and Fragrant Plants; Healing Herbs; Aromatic Flowers, Common Medicinal Plants, Aromatic Crops, History of Medicinal Plants and Aromatic Shrubs. The journal lays special emphasis on the Medicinal Plants, Aromatic Plants and the associated Aromatic Compounds.

Monitoring the species diversity of medicinal and aromatic plants contributes to the conservation of the gene pool of natural resources and their rational use. Since ancient times, medicinal plants have been the only source of medicinal raw materials. Despite the intensive development of chemical synthesis, plant resources are in great demand both in the pharmaceutical industry and in the national economy. They serve as a raw material for the production of medicines, pharmaceutical substances, cosmetics and biologically active additives. They are also sources of biologically active substances, objects of introduction and stimulus for the development of medicinal plant breeding and import substitution of drugs of natural origin. The need for medicinal raw materials of plant origin is constantly increasing. Separately, it should be noted that some medicinal and aromatic plants cannot be cultivated due to their biological characteristics. Meeting the needs of the country's population and the needs of the pharmaceutical industry is an important strategic issue. The Belgorod branch of the All-Russian Institute of medicinal and aromatic plants carries out many years of research, which made it possible to carry out ecological and phytocenotic evaluation of the natural plant community and analyze it on the basis of species systematics, to identify the natural potential of the local flora with selection of the most promising species for cultivation under regulated conditions. The raw material base of medicinal and aromatic plants in Belgorod region consists of a fund of raw materials harvested from wild-growing plants and a fund of raw materials collected at the expense of cultivated medicinal plants. Medicinal plants are harvested not only for the pharmaceutical industry and direct sale through pharmacies, but also for the needs of the population.

The increased demand for natural products from wild aromatic and medicinal plants has stimulated several research projects focusing on phytochemistry, ethnobotany, pharmacognosy and many other sub-disciplines related to medicine and pharmacy or cosmetology and chemical industry in general. Morocco is one of the richest Mediterranean countries whose flora is well known and many of its plant resources and products very demanded by consumers and manufacturers but there is an urgent need to deal with wild medicinal and aromatic plants namely found on public lands. In this study, we attempt to identify and assess the wild species to overharvesting especially those in forest lands and then identify priority ones. A rapid vulnerability assessment approach was applied to 182 species inventoried referring to its biological, ecological and chorological criteria then combined to trade data. We obtained three groups of MAP species depending on its vulnerability ranked from high to very low vulnerability and their availability at national level. A list of 25 priority species was sorted on its economic value for export and then only the most representative ones within each region was identified to analyze its corresponding actions. These insights could be applied to improve the conservation policies and guide the sustainable management and economic valuation plans to implement the Moroccan Medicinal and aromatic plants strategy.

Bu çalışmada, Covid-19 (Kovid-19) pandemisine karşı sağlık çalışanları tarafından, geleneksel olarak kullanılan tıbbi ve aromatik bitkilerin değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma tanımlayıcı modelde tasarlanmış olup 10 Temmuz-31 Aralık 2021 tarihleri arasında gerçekleştirilmiştir. Türkiye’deki sağlık çalışanları araştırma evrenini oluşturup basit rastgele örnekleme yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Verilerin toplanmasında, alan uzmanlarınca hazırlanan yarı yapılandırılmış anket formu kullanılmıştır. Demografik bilgiler ve tıbbi ve aromatik bitkiler olmak üzere iki kısımdan oluşan anket, Google forms üzerinden online olarak uygulanmıştır. Verilerin analizinde SPSS 24 paket programı kullanılmış, yüzdelik ve frekans hesaplamaları yapılmıştır. Araştırmaya, Türkiye genelinde 1320 sağlık çalışanı katılmış olup, katılımcıların %55’i kadın, %45’i erkektir, meslek gruplarına göre dağılımı; %18’i hemşire, %16’sı sağlık memuru, %12’si hekim, %10’u ATT, %9’u paramedik, %9’u ebe, %8’i tıbbi sekreter, %7’si eczacı, %6’sı psikolog ve %5’i diğer (sosyal çalışmacı, müdür, diş hekimi vs.) şeklindedir. Çalışma sonucuna göre; sağlık çalışanlarının %77’si Covid-19 pandemisinde tıbbi ve aromatik bitkilerin tamamen ve kısmen etkili olduğuna inandığını belirtmiş ve bunların %63’ü şifalı bitkileri kullanmıştır. Kullanılan bitkiler içinde kekik/Origanum sp. (%99), narenciye/Citrus sp. (%94) ve sarımsak/Allium sativum (%93) en yüksek düzeyde tercih edilmiştir. Tıbbi ve aromatik bitkilerin kullanımı hakkındaki bilgilerin en çok sosyal medya (%99) aracılığıyla elde edildiği görülmüştür. Katılımcıların %94’ü bitkileri aktardan temin etmiştir. Bitkiler daha çok demlenerek (%99) ve çiğ gıda (%91) şeklinde tüketilmektedir. Bu süreçte tıbbi ve aromatik bitki kullananların %63’ü Covid-19’a yakalanmadığını bildirmiştir. Sonuç olarak, Covid-19 sürecinde sağlık çalışanlarının büyük çoğunluğunun tıbbi ve aromatik bitkilerin etkisine inandığı ve şifalı bitkileri kullanmayı tercih ettikleri ortaya çıkarılmıştır. Bu çalışma modern tıp ilmi almış bireylerin tamamlayıcı tıbba olan bakışını yansıtması açısından önemli bir değere sahiptir.

Green plants provide food, fuel, materials, and medicine for humans. Amongst these, medicinal plants contain unique molecules with therapeutic applications. However, our understanding of these organisms is in its infancy. Landscaping plants also have a great impact on the human soul and emotional perception. These two groups of plants are part of natural wealth and have great economic value. One of the remarkable breeding strategies to improve the valuable properties of plants is artificial polyploidy induction. Medicinal and ornamental plants with duplicated whole sets of chromosomes, although not always, have more distinctive characteristics such as modified phytochemical profile, higher content of desired pharma molecules, plant form, flower color, size and style, fragrance, vase life, and prolonged flowering period. Therefore, artificial chromosome doubling (ACD) of ornamental and medicinal plants could have significant economic consequences. In medicinal plants with an ornamental flower/inflorescence, and/or in ornamental plants bearing essential oils, ACD is a dual beneficial breeding strategy. Working with both in vitro and in vivo chromosome doubling pathways, researchers are able to produce custom-designed plants with higher marketability. Some critical factors must be considered to establish a successful ACD protocol. The plant genotype and explant type are important parameters in this procedure. Type, dosage and duration of application (exposure time) of antimitotic agent (AMA) should also be considered as the main factors. Antimitotic agents can be classified according to their efficacy and toxicity. Although colchicine is the most applied and well-known AMA, there are other alternative mitotic spindle inhibitors with higher specificity for tubulin binding sites in plant materials and possessing less toxicity for animal tubulin. Testing the interaction effects of plant and AMA parameters is necessary for establishing an ACD breeding program and promoting the economic values of medicinal and ornamental plants. This paper reviews significant developments in polyploidization using different antimitotic agents over the last decade in the field of ornamental and medicinal plants. Artificial polyploidy induction is one of the applicable breeding methods in ornamental and medicinal plants. Increasing the efficiency of chromosome doubling and fast-reliable screening of desired phenotypes are prerequisites for production of custom-designed medicinal and ornamental plants through artificial polyploidy induction.